December 17, 2006

Response to Councilmember Starosciak's Fire Department Report

In response to San Leandro Councilmember Joyce Starosciak's report on the Alameda County Fire Department at the November 20, 2006, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, Brian McKenna, President of the Alameda County Firefighters Association, wrote an op-ed in the December 15 edition of the Daily Review.

In his op-ed, McKenna argues, "Our services have resulted in a yearly cost savings to the city of San Leandro of over $1.1 million beginning in 1995 and the savings continue to increase annually." He goes on to compare the annual cost increase to the San Leandro Police Department over the last 11 years, which "has had an average annual budget increase of over 9.19 percent and was forced to eliminate positions." In February 2005, the Alameda County Firefighters Association contributed $2,500 to Starosciak's City Council campaign.

In a December 13, 2006, letter to the editor of the Daily Review, San Leandro resident Paul G. Vargas, applauded Starosciak, stating, "Thank goodness for Councilwoman Starociak's efforts to expose the wanton waste and mismanagement of the Alameda County Fire Department." Vargas ran for the District 3 City Council seat in 2002 and lost to Glenda Nardine.